It has become known that dangerous micro organisms can be transmitted and distributed through the mail of many countries"" postal services. This method of transmitting deadly microbes, particularly anthrax, has become popular with terrorists and others who seek to spread death and disease throughout a population. Although virulent strains of microbes clearly become deadly when the packages in which they are wrapped or sealed are opened, there is an increasing recognition that the risk of infection through secondary transmission due to microbes contaminating the outside of packages is very high where mail has traversed through a mail facility that was previously exposed to deadly microbes.
This invention prevents infection due to secondary transmission by thoroughly cleansing the external surfaces of letters, magazines, and other items of mail prior to their being touched by the intended addressees. According to the invention, such cleansing will take place in the addressee""s local mailbox between the time it is delivered by the postal service and the time the addressee opens the mailbox to retrieve the mail. Cleaning of items of mail is accomplished by irradiating all exposed surfaces of an item of mail with ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 254 nanometers. This frequency of light has a germicidal effect upon exposed microbes and, if they are exposed for a sufficient length of time, will be effective to render them harmless.
According to the invention, a wire cage or basket is fitted within a standard mailbox, such as it commonly used for home delivery. This style of mailbox has a flat, rectangular floor at the bottom, sides that rise straight, vertically from the longitudinal sides of the floor up to a distance of about 8xe2x80x3-9xe2x80x3, and then are rounded to meet at the top to form a semicircular upper portion. The rear wall is flat, and shaped like an inverted xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d while there is a door having a similar shape at the front. The door is hinged at the bottom, and opens from the top downward to expose the interior. An ultraviolet lamp providing light at a wavelength of 254 nanometers is located lengthwise at the top of the mailbox. A cylindrical wire basket or cage is enclosed lengthwise within the mailbox, and may or may not be open at the front end. A motor and a timing circuit that may include a microprocessor occupy the extreme rear portion of the mailbox, and the motor is attached to the wire, cylindrical basket, through a gearing arrangement if necessary, to cause the basket to rotate about its longitudinal axis. This rotation causes items of mail placed within the basket to tumble, such that all exposed surfaces will eventually be exposed to the ultraviolet light. A magnetic switch is located at the front opening of the mailbox, and is tripped xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d whenever the door is closed. The timing circuit controls both the ultraviolet light and the motor, and causes them to become activated whenever the magnetic switch initiates a closure. A preprogrammed timer operates the ultraviolet lamp and the motor for a predetermined length of time, that will be approximately 15 minutes for most purposes, and then shuts off the lamp and motor. The unit is attached to a constant electrical source, and will automatically activate whenever the mailbox door is opened and then closed.